European Council President Donald Tusk and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Photo Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images
European Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday rebuked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a tweet, accusing him of playing "some stupid blame game" as the Brexit deadline nears.
"@BorisJohnson, what’s at stake is not winning some stupid blame game. At stake is the future of Europe and the UK as well as the security and interests of our people. You don’t want a deal, you don’t want an extension, you don’t want to revoke, quo vadis?"
Context: Johnson on Tuesday spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel about his Brexit proposals and told the chancellor that a Brexit deal would be "essentially impossible" if the EU demands Northern Ireland should stay in the bloc’s customs union, according to Bloomberg.
- The chancellor insisted, however, that Northern Ireland should stay in a customs union, according to the BBC.
- The 2 leaders spoke after Spector magazine published a text message from one of Johnson's officials that the PM blames the EU for hindering negotiations by refusing to move beyond the Irish border question.
- The text also shows that Johnson is preparing for negotiations to collapse.
What's next: The U.K. is only 24 days away from the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline. Johnson is required by law to seek a new extension to the Brexit process if the U.K. and EU cannot reach a deal by Oct. 19, but he has maintained that he will take the U.K. out of the EU "do or die" at the end of October, according to CNN.
Go deeper: Everything you need to know about Brexit